Inflated perceptions of responsibility and obsessive-compulsive symptoms

In Salkovskis' [Salkovskis, P. (1985). Obsessional-compulsive problems: a c ognitive-behavioural analysis. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 28, 571-588; Salkovskis P. (1989) Cognitive-behavioural factors and the persistence of intrusive thoughts in obsessional problems. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 27, 677-682] cognitive model for obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), infl ated perception of responsibility is highlighted as the critical feature th at maintains the disorder. In the current study, the relationship between r esponsibility and obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms was examined. Specific ally, three measures of responsibility were evaluated for their psychometri c properties. These measures were then used to test Salkovskis's model by e xamining the relationships among pervasive responsibility, automatic though ts related to causing harm, and OC symptom severity. Findings provide parti al support for the validity and reliability of the measures and for the mod el as a whole. Based on regression analyses, data support that pervasive re sponsibility significantly contributes to the prediction of OC symptoms. Fu rthermore, this relationship appears to be mediated by automatic thoughts r elated to causing harm in OCD contexts. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.